1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
The present invention addresses the problem of fitting components onto an interface card or circuit board, for example a local area network (LAN) adapter. In order to address this problem, the present invention provides a structure which may be utilized in a variety of applications, and is not limited to LAN adapters or connectors mounted on circuit boards.
Typically, a LAN adapter requires a transformer, mounted on an interface board, for transferring data from a main data bus to the interface board, and a connector on the board through which signals are transferred from the data bus to the transformer. The present invention proposes to combine the transformer with the connector to both save space and provide a more efficient arrangement. It is particularly suitable for use in a telephone jack-type connector, but not limited thereto.
The illustrated embodiment of the invention uses a known type of surface mount transformer, an example of which is marketed by TDK under the designation CIT-35 SERIES, and which has a footprint of approximately 5.5 mm.times.9 mm and a height of approximately 5 mm. While this conventional transformer is smaller than a typical telephone jack type connector used in LAN applications, its structure is nevertheless too big to be accommodated within the typical connector. Furthermore, present techniques for surface mounting such a transformer on a circuit board would be unreasonably difficult and expensive for use in a connector, even if space in the connector could be found.